Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 Source: Houston Chronicle (TX) Copyright: 2014 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper Contact: http://www.chron.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198 Author: Ruth Dodson MARIJUANA VS. ALCOHOL Regarding "DA: Obama's comments on pot reckless" (Page B1, Tuesday), Lloyd Oliver, a Democratic candidate for district attorney, said "I could sell a person a beer and it's a gateway to what: good Scotch whisky? Marijuana is simply a gateway drug." I have an opinion based on 55 years of observation. I have lost two immediate family members due to drinking and driving. I watched three friends/neighbors literally drink themselves to death. The tally for marijuana leading to other harder drugs, at least in my middle-class world, is a big, fat zero. To believe that alcohol is harmless is ignorant bliss. To believe marijuana is a bigger threat than alcohol to our youth is simply not true. Ruth Dodson, Montgomery - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom